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Terran vs. Protoss (StarCraft)
Because terrans have the weakest early-game detection, a popular protoss strategy when dealing with terran players is to wall himself in with photon cannons while teching to Dark Templars. The Dark Templar Rush as it's called is quite capable of causing severe damage to an early game terran assault, for Templar can one-hit kill Marines, and slice Missile Turrets to pieces easily. There aren't many ways to prevent this. In a map like Lost Temple, the terran should attempt to block chokepoints with supply depots with a single barracks being used as a "gate" of sorts, lifting off to allow your own troops to move through, or landing to prevent enemies from advancing. Supported with two or so missile turrets, this will prove a decent defense unless the enemy decides to use a shuttle and just fly around these defenses. Additionally, hotkeying a ComSat station can work in a pinch; the 1-s-click as its called can temporarily nullify the dark templar cloaking ability. Spider mines also work for they home in on cloaked units, and as of more recent patches, a dark templar has 40 shields and 80 HP, meaning that a spider mine will kill it in a single hit while weakening any nearby dark templar. The same wall-in suggestions work when fighting a zealot rush, for between their speed and durability, zealots generally will just run past the terran's base defenses and go straight for the SCVs, crippling the economy enough to win the production war that is StarCraft. Walling in works well for hindering the movement of zealots, especially if bunkers comprise some of the walls. Concussive-damage units are a lot more effective against protoss than normal, since shields take full damage from every attack type. Firebats in particular easily beat their cost worth in zealots as the splash-damage combined with protoss bunching to attack units makes them very damaging. Keep a few medics around to allow more liberal use of stimpacks; such a defense should help protect against the protoss until one techs to vultures. Vultures are perhaps the best mid-game unit to use en-masse vs. protoss. A single vulture is cheaper than a zealot and does more damage for the cost, and at range. Eight Vultures can take out a zealot in a single salvo, and with proper micro can defeat many times their cost in zealots. Versus heavier units like dragoons, they can run up, deploy a mass of spider mines, then retreat; this tactic can easily be supplemented in the late-game once ghosts appear, for protoss have no counter to Lockdown (except for the Arbiter's Recall ability). Lockdown several dragoons and reavers, and ride the vultures up to drop spider mines adjacent to them. Such harassment works until siege tanks become available. Against protoss, keeping siege tanks in Tank Mode is a viable strategy. The protoss units are generally durable enough to shrug off singular Siege Mode attacks that enough zealots rushing a tank emplacement will win out; between those and Corsairs, unless the tanks are being used for a specific purpose like shelling photon cannon emplacements or reavers, they work best for hit-and-runs. They make good dragoon hunters for such is the attack animation that a Tank shot is instantaneous and a dragoon shot travels before hitting. Combined with a dropship, a terran can quickload a tank before it takes damage, then unload it. However, this trick requires experience to pull off. When it comes to aerial battles, Wraiths are the main unit to use against other protoss air units for protoss have the weakest late-game detection. True they have observers but even observers are vulnerable to comsat-sweeps followed by a Wraith salvo. Unless the protoss player uses redundant observers, the terran now has a window of opportunity to attack with impunity. If the protoss are using Arbiters, bringing out the Valkyries (supported by Wraiths) may help, as their missiles' random-targeting seems to ignore Arbiters' cloaking fields, hitting whatever is hiding there anyway. Valkyries in large groups (eight or larger) are extremely useful against carriers and if you EMP with the science vessel, will quickly kill even a large group of carriers with minimal losses. The science vessel is a powerful item for EMP works wonders on dark archons, archons, high templar, shield batteries, and massed carriers. However, other abilities are important as well. Defense Matrix nullifies the fragility of vultures and a squad of Matrixed Vultures can rush past a base's defenses to go straight to probe-hunting. However, one should beware dark archons with Feedback. Battlecruisers are perfect for assault due to its damage that it inflicts on its foes but the only way to counter a full fleet of battlecruisers is by building up as many AA units as possible and also use spells to back up. General Protoss units are individually superior. Building up the mechanized tree tends to produce more effective counters; terran infantry, even using the marines and medics combinations, tend to be too fragile, and useful mainly on the defensive. Detection is required to ward off observers and starting in the mid-game. By the late game, this extends to the Arbiter's stealth field. Early Game Create a ramp block using barracks and supply depots. Use s and s to engage from behind the wall. Preventing the attackers from gaining line-of-sight on the high ground by clearing them off the ramp makes it more difficult for dragoons to contribute their firepower. 2 Factory This strategy aims to produce siege tanks to hold off a dragoon break. Expanding Expanding is hazardous due to the superiority of s over marines. Use vultures and spider mines to protect the expansion from dragoons until siege tanks are available. Expanding early while the protoss are teching may leave expansions at risk. Early observers negates the minefields and allow dragoons to break through before siege tanks are deployed. Siege tanks with siege mode also provide the means to operate offensively against dragoons and photon cannon-protected expansions. In general, the first expansion should happen no later than when the enemy does so, to maintain economic parity. This also applies to any cases where the enemy expands quickly. Mid Game Common Strategies 2/1 Soft Push The terran soft push includes the use of siege tanks, vultures, and sometimes goliaths to "push" toward the enemy base. Hard Push Basically the same as a soft push except that missile turrets are used in the push. Vulture Harass Any undefended expansion can easily be assaulted by vultures. Workers die very quickly, and cannot run from a group of four to six vultures. Remember to place spider mines to the entrance of the expansion to prevent reinforcements from saving the workers. Otherwise, it may not be reasonable to try and destroy the nexus because of the vulture's concussive damage (25% to large units and buildings), but it is up to your discretion to sacrifice your vultures, or utilize them further. *Tip: You can move your vultures and attack simultaneously by ordering your unit to attack, then quickly right clicking. The vulture will launch a volley, and continue to move with most of its speed. This allows you to make a cost-effective assault against even a moderately defended expansion. Counters It takes only one or two photon cannons to ward off a vulture attack, but it may still be advisable to stack pylons side by side at the entrance of your expansion in order to prevent any vultures or larger units from entering. This makes a dragoon reinforcement impossible, however. Mech Drop Rare Strategies Late Game Common Strategies Mass Goliaths Specifically to counter carriers. The Charon Booster missile upgrade for the goliath in Brood War gives a huge boost to the goliath's AA attack range. Goliaths largely replace vultures in late game TvP because the protoss will have easy access to observers and large numbers of dragoons and zealots in addition to air units. The vulture lacks an air attack and is ineffective against heavy armor units like dragoons. Rare Strategies Category:StarCraft terran strategy